Finishers in 70s

Press, 1 April 1985, Page 26

Finishers in 70s

Two men in their 70s completed the Brighton Pier 50-mile running race in Christchurch on Saturday. They were John Drew (Sumner) and Les Smith (University). They ran and walked together all the way to finish in llhr 46min, after having endured temperatures of up to 19deg. in the late morning, followed by cold southerly winds in the last three hours.

Drew, aged 71, has run more 50 mile races in Christchurch than anyone else, while Smith, the world’s fastest marathon runner for an over 75-year-old, became the oldest person in the world to have completed the distance. He turns 76 today.

Drew was elated at having improved on his last

year’s time by nearly an hour. He said yesterday that he and Smith had completed the last 10 miles in a faster time than any of the first four 10-mile splits. He said that Smith, who has greater speed than Drew, had to be restrained at the half-way point because he was becoming '‘impetuous.” It was Smith’s first attempt at a race longer than the marathon and he had done little preparation for it. It was only at Drew’s urging for a companion that Smith agreed to start.

Smith, who retired from his Rangiora accountancy business only two years ago, did not take up marathon running until he was 70, and has improved on his times each year.